We invite proposals for activities that explore the connections between cognition, theatre, and performance in general, or activities that take the conference theme, “Stories in Mind. Narrative in Cognition and Culture.” into account. This preconference seeks to provide the environment for explorations in the practice of theatre and performance broadly understood: theatrical practice, spectatorial practice, historical practice, etc. Because we are open to a wider variety of workshop formats (reading group roundtable, exercise participation/demonstration, etc.), we invite all modes. Activities that would not or could not normally take place in the Cognitive Futures conference (such as workshop activities, etc.) will be prioritized. We hope that members will also be presenting at the main conference, so we encourage presenters to think of this as an additional opportunity rather than a replacement opportunity. The structure of the sessions is as follows: a 40-minute activity or presentation with 20 additional minutes dedicated to discussing how this presentation or exercise engages the cognitive sciences. In your proposal, please explicitly explain how the proposed work relates performance to the cognitive sciences and include a bibliography of up to 10 titles.

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Both presenters and those who wish to only attend will be invited to participate in this preconference. There is no fee for this preconference workshop, but there may be a small fee for catered food to the preconference venue, tba.

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Please submit your proposals (limited to 300 words) via this form by January 31, 2026 (the same deadline as the Cognitive Futures main conference deadline)

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If you are not interested in presenting but are interested in attending, please RSVP via this form at by January 31, 2026 so that we know how many participants to expect.

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Please feel free to contact us with any questions at: cognitiontheatreperformance@gmail.com